Should I pull the fenders off my Challenger to repaint the engine compartment?

[KillerBee]

Hello,

I'm working on the wife's 1971 R/T Challenger.
It was restored by her late father back in the 80's.
The body and paint are still in beautiful shape but it has the typical 1980's black painted engine compartment
I'm pulling the current 440 engine in the car to install a fresh 440 sixpack engine and while it's out I want to have the engine compartment stripped and painted to the body color.
I've already removed the hood, grill, bumper, and front valance(taking the stuff off is the easy part )
The more I look at what I have I'm thinking the front fenders sure look easy to remove also, jut a few bolts on the top, a few on the headlight brackets, and on the bottom of the fenders unless I'm missing something.
I'm trying to make this job easier and also trying to protect the beautiful paint on the car's fenders.
I could leave the fenders off until the engine compartment is painted and the engine is installed and running and driving.

I've run the idea past a couple body guys and they both say it's too much of a hassle to pull the fenders.
Again I already have most of the body parts needed to remove the fenders out of the way...I think
I was thinking of drilling a couple small locating holes on the top inside of the fenders to help get the fenders installed back on correctly.
So for the experienced body guys here how difficult is it to pull the fenders off and then re-install them?
Is it worth the effort to try and protect the paint or am I just being paranoid?
Any tricks to removing the fenders or making sure I can re-install them correctly?

Thanks

[72hemi]

If it were me and my car I would pull the entire front clip, fenders front valance and hood. It gives you better access to the engine compartment for painting, makes removal and installation of the engine easier and you are less likely to damage the body panels that way.

[KillerBee]

If it were me and my car I would pull the entire front clip, fenders front valance and hood. It gives you better access to the engine compartment for painting, makes removal and installation of the engine easier and you are less likely to damage the body panels that way.

I've already also removed the hood and front valance from the car so just the fenders remain.
I'm just concerned that currently the fenderd are installed and aligned perfectly on the car and I don't want to remove the fenders(and run into a hassle of removing them) and later have a difficult time trying to put the fenders back on the car and getting them aligned correctly.

I'm NO bodyman.

[EvilTwinATX]

are you going to pull the motor?

either way I would pull the fenders... but have someone there to help you. They can be tricky to get on/off without scraping something...
if you have any shims in the fenders make sure you note where they go... you will need to put them back exactly so the fenders line up like before.

I guess it is a matter of how detailed you want to be..

[KillerBee]

are you going to pull the motor?

either way I would pull the fenders... but have someone there to help you. They can be tricky to get on/off without scraping something...
if you have any shims in the fenders make sure you note where they go... you will need to put them back exactly so the fenders line up like before.

I guess it is a matter of how detailed you want to be..

Yes the engine and tranny are coming out.
Is is easier to pull the fender with the doors open or closed?
Where are the shims located?
I don't see any shims on or under the top fender bolts.

[EvilTwinATX]

if you are going thru the trouble of pulling the motor and tranny I say go ahead and pull the fenders too. There may not be any shims either...

drilling an alignment hole is a good idea for hoods and truck lids.. I am sure it would work for fenders too.

If I remember there are only about 8 bolts that hold that thing on.... tape your door and fender edges too.

IMHO of course...

[73Chally]

If it was me I would leave the fenders on.  I had my motor pulled and a 440 put in a couple years ago (before the full restoration), and as part of that work the engine bay was stripped and repainted.  The only thing that was taken off was the hood.  The fenders can be a pain in the butt to line back up once you take them off.  For us, there was no reason to pull the fenders.

[NoMope Greg]

I taped mine up to cover and repainted the engine bay.  Granted, my paint pulled off with the tape when I unmasked, but it's the original paint and has been sitting in the California sun for 37 years, so it doesn't take much to pull off.  If your paint is in good shape, I'd cover the fenders and spray away.  It's just as easy to scratch them removing and reinstalling them.

[wally426ci]

I would definitely leave the fenders ON!! wait until you have to shift them around to re-align the body lines. You'll be cussing  when you scratch the exterior paint. I would tape the fenders off at the top corner, that way you can paint the bolt heads and all and it will be hard to see the difference....... 

[stinger]

if the engine compartment is in nice shape but just the wrong color then I would mask the fenders off,buzz it and paint.any rot then pull them.you will probably want to dust the tops of the fender lips to get some paint on the fender bolts anyways unless you like the scraped up bolt head look and other scrapes from adjusting the fenders.

[EvilTwinATX]

It's just as easy to scratch them removing and reinstalling them.

very true...  that is the trick! putting them back on without scratching something.

[e-tek]

I'm in the LEAVE THEM ON camp! Very hard to not scratch them taking them off, storing, putting 'em back on. Aligning is VERY difficult. Just cover them with paper, then blankets taped on to protect them.

[KillerBee]

WOW  the majority of you sure don't like messing with installing fenders.
They sure don't look that hard to install and adjust.
I have a pair of 1970 Challenger fenders I've owned since the 80's and they really aren't that heavy to move around, I just carried both of them up a ladder to my storage loft.

Thanks for all the honest responses.

[73Chally]

They are light and easy to move around, but the slightest nick when taking them off or putting them back on will scratch the paint.  It's not nearly as bad if you do it with 2 people, but I just don't see any reason to take them off if you are only shooting the engine bay.  As for lining them back up, if you've never done it before, it is much tougher than you may think.  Again, a lot easier with 2 people, but the chances of getting them dead on like they are now is difficult.

[72hemi]

Personally I have never had any trouble removing or reinstalling fenders on my Challenger or my cudas and realigning them wasn't difficult either and I didn't drill any alignment holes. Maybe I'm just lucky. But for me removing and installing engines and transmissions is a lot easier to do without having the fenders on because I don't have to reach over them.